Jordan Pond Loop: A loop of Winter Joy

It had been a while since I’d gone hiking; either with the family or with the girls (my hiking buddies). Last week, however, when the urge to get out refused to let go of me, I coaxed the family out for a ‘little walk.’ And with the hills just outside the neighorhood looking so green and so inviting, I could look no further. It only felt right to explore some part of the Diablo Mountain Range. This time I picked Jordan Pond Loop in Garin Regional Park in Hayward, and the place exceeded my expectations!

Garin Regional Park appeared to have several different trails crossing it. I’d chosen Jordan Loop Trail because it seemed to promise me the view of a water body — a pond — and some views of the San Francisco Bay. I couldn’t resist the temptation!

And I hadn’t really seen pictures from the trail so it was all a lovely, grand surprise.

It was a nice sunny day when we hit this trail. The sky was a pretty blue, and the fog and the showers we had had earlier in the month had turned the rolling hills into dollops of green. A few minutes into our hike we found ourselves by Jordan Pond. A couple of minutes later we had circled a good part of it and had begun ascending a hill, all the while not missing sight of the water and the ducks frolicking in it.

Soon we went around a bend and I realized we were higher up. (The climb was ever so gentle or I was so lost in the sights around me that I didn’t notice the change in elevation. 😄) And we could hear the wind whooshing around and creating waves in the grass that hugged the rolling slopes of the Diablo Mountains. What a pretty sight it was.

A few feet’s climb and another bend later we came upon another picturesque view — more of those rolling hills; one rolling into the next. The perfect-looking green hills put together such a perfect panorama!

Two more curves later we came upon another lookout, this one rewarding us with a view of the San Francisco Bay and a good portion of the Bay Area too. Further to the northwest, I spotted the Bay Bridge and a bit of the City of San Francisco, too.

The wind continued to whoosh around, and yellow wildflowers danced with the hurrying air. It was such a euphoric few minutes. The flowers, the wind, the hikers on the trail, those resting on a bench nearby, even the green grass, and Bay Area that lay in front of us seemed to be enjoying that flawless January day.

And I felt joy flood me!

Either I really needed some outdoor time, or the place was simply beautiful, or it was a bit of both but I did feel very, very happy that day. Oh yes — you can say I was tipsy from the trip to Jordan Pond Loop Trail! (And I might make this an annual pilgrimage. :D)

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What you need to know for the trip to Jordan Pond Loop

Location: Jordan Pond Loop is in Garin Regional Park, Hayward, CA
Distance: 1.2 miles
Type of Trail: Loop
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
Kid-Friendly: Oh yes!
Stroller/Wheelchair accessible: No
Best Time to go: Winter-Spring (The hills are green and there are wildflowers too)
Things to carry: Water, Wind Jacket. Don’t forget to take a camera/enough photo space on your phone

More:
From the Diablo Mountains
Bay Area Hikes

Linking to —
Our World
My Corner of the World

The pictures in this post were all taken with a Nikon Coolpix AW130 – the camera I carry for all my hikes. I love my DSLR but this one is great to carry along on a hike because it is small (a point-and-shoot that fits in my jacket pocket), it’s shock-proof (yeah!) and waterproof! And it’s got built-in WiFi that lets me ‘share’ pictures right from the trails. It’s even got a built-in GPS — perfect for geotagging locations.

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